Mistakes
by Michelle167
Summary: Mistakes are made by more than one family member that could have possibly prevented the Hale fire and the events that followed. PeterHale/ Laura Hale centric. One-shot.


This is a short simple fanfic that has several scenes revolving around the events of the Hale fire. This includes Laura Hale as well as Peter and Derek...she's not on the character list so I couldn't include her there.

I do not own Teen Wolf

Mistakes

* * *

Wolf moon...it was the time of the ritual...a time when they all grew in strength...a time to look forward to...not one to dread, but things were not going according to plan. Derek was not cooperating, and Peter feared it was an omen of worse things to come.

"He's being stubborn...rebellous," thought Peter.

He had been this way since Paige. Peter felt responsible...it was his fault and he knew it. He was the one who pushed Derek to turn Paige. The darker part of him wanted to believe Derek would have come up with the idea on his own...it was the only way he could seem to alleviate his own guilt.

"It should have worked," he thought.

And if it had, Ennis would have dropped his vendetta against the Argents and all the madness would have ceased. Peter would have gained Talia's favor...she would have finally seen what an asset he could be, but it was not to be...Paige died.

He waited for Talia's wrath but it never came...Derek never told her just how involved her younger brother had been and for that Peter was grateful.

Their relationship afterwards was more tense than ever, but the event bonded them together in way few people ever were...they needed each other...never the less they were often at odds.

"Come on Derek...What's one night out of the year?" asked Peter.

Derek tilted his head and glared at his uncle.

"I've got plans."

"Plans? We do this every year...how can you make plans on the wolf moon?...no...Why would you make plans on the wolf moon?"

"I don't know...it just slipped my mind."

Derek looked away and rolled his eyes.

"Slipped your mind?...you did this on purpose didn't you...to spite me," Peter accused.

"It's not about you."

Still, it would reflect on him. He wanted to push...to use his natural abilities like he had when he had convinced Derek to turn Paige, but he held back. The situation was more volatile than he wanted to admit. He knew about the Argent girl. What he didn't know was her intentions.

"Is she using him or is she really in love with him?" he wondered.

Peter couldn't make up his mind. Instinctively, he wanted to protect one of his own...he believed she might be manipulating his nephew but his guilt from the past was preventing him from dealing with it prematurely. If he was wrong, he could push Derek even further away.

"You're right...it's not about me...it's about the family...our family...this is the one night a year where we strengthen ourselves Derek...we need each other...we need you...we all do."

For now Peter would leave Kate Argent out of the picture.

Derek shrugged and looked down at the ground.

"Nothing you say is going to change my mind," he replied.

Peter threw his hands up in desperation.

"It's like having a discussion with a rock...Derek you have a responsibility here."

"It's my life...and right now...I just want to live it," he answered.

"You're a werewolf Derek...your life is with your family...with your pack!"

Peter felt his temper rise. Derek was being defiant.

"I just need some space right now...Laura too," he said.

"Laura...what does Laura have to do with this?" Peter asked.

"She won't be here either," Derek answered.

The air rushed out of Peter's lungs as he let out a deep sigh. He had expected a battle with Derek, but not with Laura. In his surprise he felt his determination to see that Derek made the ritual diminish.

"So...the infection is spreading," he said sarcastically, "How many more will you convince to abandon ship?"

"It's not like that...we both have finals at school..we need to study...that's all," Derek replied.

The uptick in Derek's heartbeat told him all he needed to know. His nephew was lying.

"Probably the Argent girl," he thought, "some outing with her on the wolf moon. What are you doing Derek? That's doesn't seem suspicious to you? You do know she's a hunter don't you? Please don't tell me you're this naive?"

Peter shoved all the thoughts he wanted to scream at Derek back down deep in his throat. He was making a mistake...somehow he knew it, but Paige's face as she was dying kept flashing before his eyes. His interference had caused that...he couldn't do it again.

"I give up," he muttered, "Do what you want."

Peter waved his hand, dismissing his nephew.

"We'll both be here next year," Derek promised.

Peter nodded his head avoiding Derek's gaze.

"Yeah, I'm sure you will...I'll hold you to that."

Derek left, leaving Peter to ponder what exactly Kate Argent was really up to and what if anything it meant for Derek.

* * *

Laura looked over the charred remains of what once had been their home...what remained was nothing more than an empty hull. Guilt washed over her. Selfishness had spared her life, never the less the fact that her family had suffered while she partied the night away ate bitterly at her insides. She and Derek had forgotten who they really were...they had engaged in the human lifestyle for far too long...they had become careless. All that ended the night of the fire.

How had she become so blinded? She knew who Kate was...had even warned Derek.

"But he seemed so happy," she thought.

It was something she did not want to be responsible for...destroying her brother's happiness. It had been so rare for him in recent years, so after her initial protests, she had stopped complaining. As time had gone on, she too had been drawn in by Kate's deception even to the point of calling her a friend.

Laura shivered at the thought.

Kate had invited them to the biggest party of the year. They had happily accepted and indulged in the fun for most of the night, even after Kate called saying she would be late.

Laura held back her sobs as she realized the call had probably come when Kate was torching their family alive.

Why had she done it? Why had she singled them out? Did she really feel something for them? Did she want to spare them the horrendous fate she had planned for their family?

Laura swallowed her nagging doubts and let the werewolf rise within her.

"She's a hunter...she doesn't have sentiment," she whispered to herself.

Though the words seemed hollow coming from her lips, they had a sobering affect.

"What if we had come to the ritual that night?"

The thought grabbed her attention.

They might have discovered Kate...warned the family...saved them all. It was something the hunter would never have risked.

She had sent them to the party to ensure they would not interfere with her plans.

She was a hunter...cold and calculating...Kate had never forgotten who she was.

"Not like us," Laura thought.

They were not like others...they were werewolves...and certain things were expected of them. Because they had forgotten who they were, they had let their family down.

The darkness of the thought threatened to overtake her, to take her down a path she did not want to follow.

She shook her head in denial.

"No..it's not all our fault...it can't be," she whispered.

"What can't be?"

Laura was startled out of her thoughts. How long had Derek been standing there? Had she been so consumed by her own guilt that she had missed the sound of his of boots crunching on the broken glass that littered the foyer?

"What's wrong with me?" she wondered.

"Derek...you startled me!" she exclaimed.

She was taken aback at how distraught he looked...the sunken eyes, the ashen face, the way he avoided her eyes so that she could not see his tears. It seemed she was not the only one who was still in shock.

Her younger brother scanned the foyer, his eyes lingering on the staircase the longest. How many times had he slid down that thing as a kid?

"It's gone...it's all gone...and the family...they're all...all..."

He couldn't get the word out.

"They're all dead, Derek...dead," she thought, never the less the word remained unspoken between them.

She knew what he was thinking. The guilt she felt for what had happened could not compare to the weight of what he felt. Kate had been his girlfriend, his responsibility, his mistake...one that he could not take back. She hurt for her brother, but she knew there were no words that could fix what was going on inside of him.

"Where do you think it all started...the fire...I mean?" she asked, as she purposely turned his focus towards more technical pursuits.

Derek furrowed his brows and scanned the room again...this time in deep concentration.

"I don't know," he mumbled, "have the police said anything?"

The law was something the Hales rarely dealt with. Most matters were handled within the family, but this was too big...too much for what was left of their family to handle alone.

"They're still investigating...if they knew we were here they probably wouldn't like it."

"I don't care what they like," he stated angrily.

He stomped off heading down the stairs, leaving Laura alone once again.

She gazed at the staircase. She could almost see her mother standing there...a tight yet inviting smile beckoning her to come closer for a hug. Her imagination took over and Uncle Peter made a sarcastic comment as he emerged from the kitchen. She laughed in spite of herself. How he could be so annoying and so charming at the same time was beyond her. Memories filtered through her like pages turning in a book...a child's laugh...a cousin's shout...a baby's cry...so many beautiful memories reduced to ash. She quickly wiped away the tears that had begun to flow yet once again, as her brother's voice startled her out of her trip down memory lane.

"I think it started in the basement...they knew exactly where the ritual would be performed...and when...so...so they wouldn't miss anybody...but that's my fault isn't it?"

"Derek...you can't blame yourself...she used you...she knew what she was doing...she fooled us both."

"You knew...you warned me...I didn't want to listen...I..." Derek started.

"And after a while I thought maybe she really cared as well...Derek, we will both carry guilt for the rest of our lives for this, but it doesn't change the fact that this was Kate's doing...not ours...she's the only one to blame here."

Derek glared at her.

"That doesn't change what happened...it doesn't bring anyone back."

Laura could see the anger begin to take hold of him. She sighed.

"No, nothing will bring them back, but we can't dwell on it...the hunters are still out there and we are in danger here...we have to go."

"The hospital first," Derek mumbled as he exited the house.

The words brought her little comfort...and for the second time that day Laura shivered.

She glanced around one last time before following her brother out. It was the last time she would set foot in the home she had loved so much.

* * *

She didn't want to go in...her acute sense of smell was overwhelmed with the strong odor of disinfectant. Combined with her trepidation of seeing Peter in his new found state made her more than a little uneasy...she actually felt sick...something rare for a werewolf.

"Heartsick," she thought. After hearing Derek's description of Peter's injuries, she was not sure she wanted to see him.

"You okay?"

Laura smiled weakly at her younger brother.

"Yeah...I'm fine...it's just the smell...you know...the disinfectant...whatever they use...it's making me feel light headed."

Derek nodded.

"Guess I've gotten used to it now."

He had been coming to the hospital everyday since they had found out Peter had survived. Laura believed he was punishing himself...forcing himself to see the damage he believed he had caused.

"You think we could sit down?" she asked.

She wanted to delay their visit with her uncle as much as possible...she wasn't sure she was up to the task.

Derek led Laura to a side waiting room. Her legs were literally shaking as she collapsed into a chair.

Quickly, sitting down beside her, he asked, "Are you sure you're okay?"

Tears welled up in her eyes.

"I don't think I can do this, Derek...I just can't."

Derek pulled his sister close to comfort her, "You can do this...he hasn't responded to me...maybe he'll respond to you."

"And if he doesn't?" she asked.

"We'll deal with it," he answered.

"He's trying so hard to comfort me," she thought, "I can't let him think that he's failed."

Despite her misgivings, she managed to smile.

"You ready?" he asked.

Laura wiped her eyes with her free hand.

"I'm ready," she answered.

Silently she prayed that he didn't notice how much she was shaking as they made their way down the hallway and into Peter's room.

Laura gasped.

She was not prepared for what she saw. Her whole world spun before her. She had hoped that by some small chance Derek had exaggerated Peter's injuries, but when she saw her uncle she realized that Derek had not told her the half of it.

The hull that lay before her was not the handsome man she remembered.

The fire had laid waste to the entire right side of his body leaving his flesh raw and twisted. Laura grimaced at the sight of him. The bandages covering his face, thankfully, spared her the horror of what lay beneath. Hovering over his motionless body, she gazed into his beautiful blue eyes, to be met with only an empty stare.

"How could they do something like this to us?" she wondered.

She clenched her fist.

"Uncle Peter?" she asked.

Silence...no jokes...no sarcasm...no wicked little grin that always made you think he was up to something...not even a twinkle in his eyes.

"Peter?" she asked only to be greeted once again with silence.

Laura turned to her brother.

"Have the doctors said anything...why he's like this?...Is it physical...psychological?"

Derek shook his head.

"He's comatose...that's all I know...they aren't sure he'll ever come out of it."

"But he's a werewolf...give him some time and he might..."

Laura stopped. She could see the look on Derek's face. He had already given up.

"There's been no change, Laura...nothing since I've been coming to see him...no evidence what so over that he's going to recover."

"So what are we going to do...just leave him here?" she asked, dumbfounded.

Derek looked away guiltily.

"I don't see we have a choice...the injuries...they are worse than they look...and he's not healing...he's essentially dead, Laura."

Fresh tears sprung forth from Laura's eyes. The last time she had talked to him had been on the phone. He had been upset that she was not coming to the ritual.

"No," she thought, "he had been disappointed."

And she had just blown him off like he didn't even matter.

"But you did matter," she thought, "you do matter."

"I'm sorry, Uncle Peter," she whispered.

Her words fell on deaf ears...he didn't even know she was in the room.

"Visiting hours are almost up."

How long had the nurse been there? Again Laura's grief had made her unaware of what was going on around her.

"If she had been a hunter, I'd be dead now," she thought.

"We'll only be a few minutes more...if we could just have a little privacy," Derek requested.

The nurse nodded and retreated through the door.

"You have to do it now, Laura...we don't have a lot of time. The hunters have been closing in...we've got to get out of town."

Laura looked down at her Uncle. He had never looked so frail. He couldn't help them now...they had to help themselves.

She nodded at her younger brother.

Taking Peter's hand in her own, she squeezed, mentally pulling with all her strength. His veins pulsed and the spark flowed from him to her...there was no resistence from the shell of the man that lay there. Laura could feel her strength growing as the power rushed over her. Her eyes pulsed from yellow to red. Releasing her grasp, Peter's hand dropped to his side.

The nurse popped her head back into the room.

"I'm sorry you can't be in here any longer...visiting hours are over..you'll have to come back tomorrow."

Laura nodded at the nurse and rose to leave. Tomorrow they would be long gone...there would be no more visits to the hospital. Taking the alpha spark had been the only way she and Derek could think of to protect themselves. It had been the right choice, so why did Laura feel as though she had just made the biggest mistake of her life.

* * *

The spark...that beautiful coveted prize that transformed a werewolf into an alpha...it had been passed to him from his sister.

"Take care of the family," she had said...and he had...the best he knew how.

But now that gift had begun to fade. The warmth that had been washing over his wounds...easing the pain...bringing healing from within began to diminish.

The spark was being stripped from him, and he was powerless to stop it.

Was it out of desperation? Or was the pain that was rushing in upon him to blame? Whatever the reason, for a mere second his mind gained clarity, and it was all he needed.

He became aware of his surroundings and of the thief that took from him the only thing that was keeping him from losing his mind.

"Laura...no...don't do this," he thought.

But she could not hear him...his lips would not move.

Darkness came and with it...the pain.

"You'll pay for this, Laura!" his mind screamed.

As the light faded, he sank down in an agony that could only be described as hell itself.


End file.
